New Pentagon science-and-innovation board arrives as administration cuts research funding
Even as department leaders work to fast-track new tech, the administration is slashing funding that supports and secures innovation. The Pentagon’s new Science, Technology, and Innovation Board—a merger of the decade-old Defense Innovation Board and the 70-year-old Defense Science Board—is meant to “streamline” the department’s approach to the hardest technological and scientific national-security challenges. But it comes on […]
The hidden risk in the Army’s new ‘speed to capability’ doctrine
Most defense contractors have aligned their pipelines to the Warfighting Acquisition System but almost none have prepared their program managers, writes Nic Coppings, BD and capture expert. Editor’s note: This is part one of a three-part series. Most defense executives are reviewing pipelines and capture strategies in response to the Army’s PAE transformation. Almost none are […]
Accenture’s complaints over $1.6B Transportation Command contract fall short
The Government Accountability Office denies Accenture Federal’s claims of a conflict of interest at CACI International, whose technical proposal and a willingness to take a lower profit won out. Accenture Federal Services’ arguments that CACI International had organizational conflicts of interest that rendered it ineligible for a $1.6 billion cloud services contract failed to carry much […]
Auria acquires command, control software developer
The Enlightenment Capital-backed company grows its workforce to roughly 500 people with BCubed in the fold. Auria, the space software developer backed by Enlightenment Capital, has acquired a provider of “C3” software and hardware for agencies such as Space Force and those in the intelligence community. BCubed opened for business in 2015 to concentrate on command, […]
Pentagon chooses 7 for military data collection, analysis contract
Work under this contract directly supports the department’s Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. Seven companies have won positions on a five-year, $561 million contract to work with the Defense Department organization responsible for advising the secretary on programs and the overall force structure. Awardees will be responsible for helping the Office of Cost Assessment and […]
A trio of CEO transitions to highlight
PDW and Valiant Integrated Services look within their own ranks, while Valkyrie Enterprises brings in a former longtime leader at Science Applications International Corp. PDW James Slider, formerly the drone tech maker’s chief operating officer for three years, will lead the next phase of its push to build small unmanned aerial systems at greater scale. Ryan […]
When it comes to Feds, LinkedIn is much more than a Rolodex
With 2.7 million federal employees on the platform, contractors who treat agency pages as intelligence feeds can grab a decisive advantage, writes marketing expert Mark Amtower. For years, a persistent myth circulated throughout GovCon: “Feds aren’t on LinkedIn.” In 2012, that misconception was so prevalent that it became the catalyst for my first Annual Census of […]
Court orders OMB to publish more info about how federal funding is distributed
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had asserted that officials violated an earlier mandate regarding the disclosure of spending data. A federal judge on Wednesday directed the Office of Management and Budget to publish certain information about how federal dollars are spent after a government watchdog nonprofit accused officials of contravening an earlier court order. […]
Capgemini to sell U.S. government unit over ICE work
The French government’s pressure on the Paris-based company over detention facility contracts has prompted the plan to divest the small but controversial unit. Capgemini is selling its U.S. government subsidiary because of the work the unit does with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Paris-based company announced the decision on Sunday and said that legal restrictions didn’t […]
NITAAC finally pulls the plug on CIO-SP4
The troubled $50 billion IT contract vehicle has faced hundreds of protests that the agency could never fully resolve. Is anyone really surprised that the NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center has cancelled CIO-SP4 after years of protests? In a filing with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Friday, NITAAC explained that cancelling the contract […]